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Brett Maher signs with New Orleans Saints

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•08/10/21
brett-maher-signs-with-saints

The New Orleans Saints have signed kicker Brett Maher, according to NFL Network. This signing comes in the wake of the injury to Pro-Bowl kicker Wil Lutz according to ESPN.

Maher was the kicker for the Dallas Cowboys for two seasons, 2018 and 2019. He was cut abruptly after a week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears in 2019. Since then, he has bounced around the league on multiple teams’ practice squads. He has spent time with the New York Jets, Washington Football Team, Houston Texans, and Arizona Cardinals. However, Maher has failed to make the main NFL roster in that time.

Brett Maher’s early career

Maher started his career back in 2013, five years before he would make his NFL debut. Originally an undrafted signee of the New York Jets, he was waived before the season started to make room for Billy Cundiff. In 2014, he made his way to the Canadian Football League (CFL). Maher would have stints with the Ottawa Redblacks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Winnipeg Bombers. In both his 2016 season with the Tiger-Cats and 2017 with the Redblacks, Maher made a career-high 82% of his field goals. He also handled the punting duties for both teams.

Time with the Cowboys

In 2018 Maher got his big NFL break. During the preseason he was brought in to challenge Dallas record-setting kicker Dan Bailey. But Maher impressed the Cowboys and beat out Bailey for the starting position. He finished the season at 80.6%, making 29 of the 36 field goals attempted. Not only that, but he also tied the franchise record of six field goals made from at least 50 yards. He went 32 of 33 on extra points and had a 67.5% touchback rate. Unfortunately for him, he fared much worse in his second season in Dallas. Maher made 20 of 30 field goals good for only 66.7%. His deep-range accuracy took a dive from the previous year. Maher was only one of five from 40 to 49 yards. And after only missing one attempt from beyond 50 in 2018, he missed four attempts, going four of eight in just 13 games.

Maher will try to hold down the fort while Lutz recovers from his surgery. Lutz is expected to miss a minimum of eight games this season. The Saints are currently dealing with a house party of problems from Michael Thomas to the sudden retirement of Patrick Robinson who was a projected starter. They hope the signing of Maher will keep their minds at ease on special teams until their star kicker returns.

(Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)